The Hangover Part II ***

Running time: 102 mins Certificate: 15

Synopsis: The wolfpack is back with Alan (Galifianakas), Stu (Helms) and Phil (Cooper) waking up in Bangkok unable to remember the events leading up to that morning. What they uncover is another messy night involving a monkey, a gangster, a monk and a bunch of ladyboys.

Another sequel and also another major disappointment for this summer. To be fair it was always going to tough to top an original comedy which not only was incredibly good, but also took everyone by surprise.

The major flaw with this follow up is that not only has the storyline been completely recycled, but the events surrounding the night in question are almost exactly the same except this time in a different city. Instead of the friend being missing it is the bride’s brother, the tiger has been replaced by the monkey, the baby is now a silent old Tibetan monk and Stu ends up with another stripper. Even Mr Chow and Mike Tyson reappear in the film.

Tyson is not the only cameo appearance in the film. Indie director Nick Cassevetes (The Notebook) plays the now infamous role of the tattooist, which was originally going to be played by Liam Neeson and also by Mel Gibson who was initially linked to star in this particular role before the cast and crew objected to him appearing in the movie. It would have been interesting to see what these heavy hitters would have brought to a role which is essentially forgettable and is only there to deliver exposition.

Despite all these many problems though, it is still very funny. The humour is darker, raunchier and meaner than the original. The standout scene with the ladyboys is so disturbing, but hilarious at the same time. Galifianakis yet again is the scene stealer of the movie and is given some of the best lines making the character of Alan stranger than before. The soundtrack is wonderfully eclectic, especially with comedic use of Billy Joel songs. Also the chemistry between the three leads still works incredibly well.

It was probably too much to hope for that the follow up would be as clever or original as the first. It maybe an extremely lazy attempt in making a sequel, but fans will enjoy and laugh at the return of the wolf pack.